The Rich Get Richer: Fedorov Heating Up

Published 4:00 am, Thursday, May 25, 1995

A s if the Sharks don't have enough to worry about, here's another problem: Detroit scorer supreme Sergei Fedorov is beginning to find the range.

Fedorov scored two power-play goals Tuesday night, giving him three scores in the two games of this series. He also has four assists.

Fedorov, who had 56 goals a season ago and was the NHL's most valuable player, didn't score a goal in the Red Wings' five-game set against Dallas.

"Dallas just really keyed on him pretty much," said Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman. "They were careful not to give him scoring opportunities."

However, Fedorov did have five assists against the Stars, so it wasn't as if he was invisible.

"Sergei has been playing terrific the whole playoffs," said Detroit winger Doug Brown. "He gets his assists and leads the team in so many ways."

And if Fedorov, who had 50 points (20 goals) during the lockout- shortened regular season, keeps finding the back of the net, he'll be an even bigger force.

"Every time I've looked down, I see something in his score sheet," said Red Wings goalie Mike Vernon. "It's nice to see him score goals."

HOME COOKING: The Sharks hope that having the next two games at San Jose Arena will do something for them. Joe Louis Arena was wonderfully raucous in the first two games, and now the Sharks will hear folks cheering for them.

Of course, it should also be said home ice hasn't necessarily been a safe haven for the Sharks. They lost two of three home contests to Calgary in the Western Conference quarterfinals. San Jose was just 10-13-1 at home during the regular season.

But defenseman Tom Pederson said, "It's going to help us, for sure. We just have to use it -- we can't get down four goals early to take the fans out of the game."

The Red Wings, by the way, were 17-4-3 at their place this season.

NO COMMENT: Sharks coach Kevin Constantine is so immersed with his team's frazzled mental state that he said he "wasn't thinking about tactical things," when asked to address San Jose's penalty-killing problems.

Detroit's proficiency on the power play is leading to tentative play, even though the officiating has been quite liberal in this series.

"They've got so many guys who can score goals, we don't want to take penalties," said defenseman Jayson More. "(But their power play) is something that's killing us."

Detroit has also scored a shorthanded goal in each of the first two games.

BITS AND PIECES: No word on who'll be in goal for the Sharks tonight. Both Irbe and Wade Flaherty said yesterday they didn't know. . . . If there is a Game 6, it will be played in San Jose, the night after Game 5, because that's the way Hockey Night in Canada television wants it. There is talk of juggling game times to give players a bit more rest, but nothing's come of it yet. Game 5 at Detroit is slated for 4:30 p.m. Pacific time Monday, and Game 6 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Pacific time Tuesday.